What is Zack Polanski's professional background before entering politics?
Executive summary
Zack Polanski worked in the arts and the gig economy before full-time politics: he studied acting at Aberystwyth and a US drama school, performed immersive theatre with DifferencENGINE, and has worked as an actor, youth worker, hypnotherapist, mental‑health counsellor and in hospitality [1] [2] [3]. He later moved into community engagement and London politics, being elected to the London Assembly in May 2021 and rising to deputy and then leader of the Green Party by 2025 [2] [4].
1. From drama school to immersive theatre — an unexpected theatrical apprenticeship
Polanski’s early professional identity is rooted in performance: he studied acting at Aberystwyth University and at a drama school in Georgia, USA, then moved to London and worked with the immersive theatre company DifferencENGINE, appearing in productions such as The Hollow Hotel and The People’s Revolt [1] [5]. Multiple profiles frame this theatre work as formative for his communication style and public presence [1] [5].
2. The hypnotherapist and mental‑health strand of his CV
Beyond acting, Polanski practised as a hypnotherapist and has been described in several outlets as having a background in mental‑health counselling or therapy; a 2013 episode where he conducted a hypnotherapy session for a newspaper is recorded in reporting [4] [6]. Local and national profiles also list “mental health counsellor” among his pre‑political roles [2] [3].
3. Gig economy, hospitality and youth work — the practical backbone
Official London Assembly biography and press profiles emphasise he worked “in the gig economy” and include roles in hospitality and youth work, painting a patchwork of flexible, front‑line jobs rather than a single corporate career [2]. These roles are repeatedly cited as part of the narrative that he came into politics with direct experience of precarious work [2].
4. How this background is used politically — authenticity versus scrutiny
Supporters and Polanski himself use the mix of theatre, therapy and gig‑sector work to present him as a communicator who understands people’s economic and mental‑health struggles; his biography underpins his “eco‑populist” pitch [4]. Critics seek to reframe those same elements: media investigations and opinion pieces have probed his family background, schooling and non‑political careers to question his working‑class credentials or suggest a more complex social origin [7]. Both uses are visible in the coverage [4] [7].
5. Timeline from culture and care to elected office
Polanski’s shift into politics is dated in multiple sources: he joined the Greens in 2017 and was elected to the London Assembly in May 2021, after which his prior professional lives were highlighted in candidate and campaign coverage [3] [2]. Reporting also notes a stint in the Liberal Democrats earlier in his political journey before the Greens, showing a transition from performance and community work into formal politics [5] [6].
6. Consistencies across reporting — what the sources agree on
Across Wikipedia, The Guardian, London Assembly materials and national outlets there is consistent agreement that Polanski studied drama, worked in immersive theatre, held therapeutic/mental‑health roles including hypnotherapy, and did gig‑economy/hospitality and youth‑work roles before his full‑time political career [1] [3] [2] [4]. Those facts form the core of his pre‑political résumé in public reporting [1] [2].
7. Limits and open questions in the record
Available sources do not mention detailed employer lists, exact dates for many non‑political jobs, or quantified income from those roles; reporting relies on biographical summaries and selective anecdotes [1] [2] [4]. Where critics suggest a more privileged upbringing or alternative framing of his background, that line of inquiry appears in tabloid or opinion pieces and is contested by other outlets that foreground his gig‑economy experience [7] [3].
8. Bottom line for readers evaluating his résumé
Polanski entered politics with a portfolio of arts, therapeutic and precarious‑work experience rather than a conventional professional career in law, business or civil service; mainstream reporting consistently records acting, hypnotherapy/mental‑health work, youth work and hospitality as core pre‑political roles [1] [2] [6]. Interpretations of how those roles shape his politics vary across outlets: some present them as authentic grounding for his populist‑left pitch, others use them to question his political narrative [3] [7].